Just when we thought that what we communicated with friends, family and colleagues was going to be just between those involved, chat company WhatsApp has slyly introduced a feature that allows, of all privacy intruders, Facebook to be able to have access to our information. The reason? They justify this outrage with the reason: “selling ads”. And oh, users have just 30 days to opt out of it.
Without any notification whatsoever, the news spread quickly through tech geeks who keep themselves abreast with the ins and outs of technology. So, where can you quickly go and undo this update that has been automatically on “turn on” mode? You will need to go the WhatsApp settings on your phone or device on which you use it. The notification reads as:
“WhatsApp is updating our Terms and Privacy Policy to reflect new features like WhatsApp Calling. Read our Terms and Privacy Policy and learn more about the choices you have. Please agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy by September 26, 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.”
Screenshot of the notorious WhatsApp notification of sharing with Facebook
Nowhere do they say anything about Facebook or the fact that they are sharing your number and other sensitive information with Facebook. However, when you actually click on the Terms and Privacy Policy (no one really ever does, and hurriedly goes for the Agree button to get done with it), you see can then read this shocker:
“We joined Facebook in 2014. WhatsApp is now part of the Facebook family of companies. Our Privacy Policy explains how we work together to improve our services and offerings, like fighting spam across apps, making product suggestions, and showing relevant offers and ads on Facebook. Nothing you share on WhatsApp, including your messages, photos and account information, will be shared onto Facebook or any of our other family of apps for others to see, and nothing you post on those apps will be shared on WhatsApp for others to see.”
Seems legit. Though they didn’t need to give you a whole paragraph to explain something that should be in place, in the first place. Then, when you go lower and read further, this is what it says:
“Share my WhatsApp account information with Facebook ads and products experiences. Your chats and phone number will not be shared onto Facebook regardless of this setting.”
Yes, WhatsApp, you won’t share our personal information on Facebook, because you’re happily sharing it WITH Facebook. Having said that, it’s up to you, the user, to allow or disallow WhatsApp to share your information. And speaking of invasion of privacy, the European Union, led by France and Germany, are trying to either ban WhatsApp or make it legal for the government to be able to have access to your text messages that you send across the app.
